(Emancipation Day Message From PM Browne)
Fellow citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, residents, friends and visitors:
I invite you to join my Government and the wide array of Governments, organizations and individuals throughout the African Diaspora who are today commemorating and celebrating this day, August 1st, 2019, as the One Hundred and Eighty-fifth (185th) Anniversary of the proclamation of the end of centuries of enslavement of Africans, on the continent and here in our Caribbean.
I convey fulsome congratulations to the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Commission for raising the consciousness of the people of this fair land, as every effort is made to inform and educate the youth. The history of denial and exclusion— practiced since 1632 when modern Antigua and Barbuda began its history—came to an end in 1981 when sovereignty was achieved. The role of the United Nations in this quantum leap to freedom and sovereignty cannot be overstated.
Our islands now face threats that are global in nature, and cannot be thwarted by our actions only. Global climate change, for example, requires the efforts of all nations, especially the commitments of the large industrial states. Antigua and Barbuda’s security is threatened by disasters spawned by the unreasonable quantities of unwanted gases and particulate matter which are emitted into our skies annually by these industrial states. The global climate change challenge must be met frontally.
The de-risking phenomenon in which large banks are engaging, to the detriment of small jurisdictions, cannot be ignored. There is an imminent threat to our banking system and to the financial architecture which supports our hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, tour operators and other businesses.
Despite the imminent threats, our country justly celebrates 185 years of freedom from chattel slavery and from the oppression which followed for several generations.
2019 is indeed a year to recall great advances. Foremost among our small state’s accomplishments is the agreement to place the Fourth Landed Campus of the University of the West Indies at Five Islands, Antigua. It is a quantum leap in our development ambitions.
The leaders throughout our Caribbean civilization accept that providing access to tertiary education to youth is absolutely essential, if they are to compete globally. In its 71st year, the U.W.I. has achieved an ambition that has escaped it for decades; having agreed to place a landed campus on the territory of an O.E.C.S. country is remarkable.
Fellow citizens, on this Emancipation Day, I again urge us all to work towards the purging of our nation ‘of the ills of the past’ and to ‘rise up as one – one people, indivisible and united; as one nation, one people with a common destiny’ – a destiny we share with all others who are also celebrating today this important milestone, in our quest for human development.
Happy Emancipation Day to you all.
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Mr PM the only problem we face is that we are going in the wrong direction hence the challenges you mentioned.
A small island like Antigua should not look to development for sustanance. We should look within and look to nature.
Trying to be a part of globalization will cost us all of our soveringty. They will government the country from the outside with their treaties.
I recall you saying because of international obligations marijuana cannot be legalize. Get my point yet remember you are suppose to be soverign.
We should have developed our people to be self-sufficient, creative, and have a greater appreciation for each other.
We remain divided and there are absolutely no effort to bring this entire nation together, so that we can maximize on all the human resource available.
Who has the most cruise passenger aught not to be a consideration. Our neighbors should not be seen as our competitors, we all came in the same boat on the same day.
These islands need to bind themselves together stop giving airlines subsidy to fly in. We should purchase our own jets and move people.
Start charging cruise liners real money to visit the islands and for polluting our waters. It’s ok if they do not want to come, we can buy our own boats and move the tourist.
Why are we importing all these foods from outside the Caribbean, when we can grow them for ourselves, each island is unique and can produce accordingly.
Mr PM it’s time to nationalize all foreign own companies not only in Antigua but through out the region.
Stop selling the land and start acquiring lands, there must be a plan to own this rock. No children of slaves should ever have to purchase land our parents blood sweat and tears paid for it already.
Mr PM we need to go on a fruit tree planting exercise. We need to plant hundreds of thousands of fruit trees across the nation. This is more urgent and critical than any derisking or or global pollution and climate challenges.
When they take their money the trees will feed us. What will you eat when the supermarket is closed, the millions you accumulate?
Slavery has not left us, they have changed our position but our condition is the same. The minimum wage today is the equivalent of zero wage during slavery.
The Masters use tricky language to bamboozle us. Emancipation, colonialism, state hood, Independence, republic.
Does that make sense to you if you are free you are free. They do not have any of these systems open your eyes. So why do you have it? Because it is slavery by a different names. Human trafficking? Let the Masters speak about it, it is their hobby.
This is my emancipation message.
Apart from this buffoon above who sees politics in everything and who criticize for no other reason than politics it is good that our PM is reflecting on this special day especially for the people of African Decedents in this country and in the region.
I do regret that this day is not marked in our calendar of Public Holidays. What can be more important then this day. Heroes Day?. Come one politicians. Do not think politics in every decision. Emancipation Day should be a day of remembrance. Now and forever. It did not come without blood shed. It wasn’t handed to us on a silver platter. And it was not only fought here locally. It was the greatest Human Rights violation finally coming to an end ALL over the World. And it took over three hundred years.
The Jews are still at this day celebrating their freedom from Eqypt. We seem to want to put our history in the dustbin of history. Never to remember anymore. That is why we have so many social issues and self esteem issues and you name it. Don’t see any Jew having that issue. Not even having gone through the Holocaust. We need to learn to tell our history with pride.
Happy Emancipation to all Antiguans and Barbudans of African Decent. Know your history. Know who you are and where you are coming from
You and your administration have done exactly what the slave masters had been doing. The only difference is YOU call it “progress” & “power house”…..I would rename it, …Oppression & debt.
Hi Mel. You seem to be on a rampage today. As usual, Mel, you really do have some good points. Others not so good. Anyhow, you make us think. Co-operative democratic socialism was the vision of our founders, and we must return to the values of the 1939 Revolution, which remain the vision of the People. Mel, have a blessed Emancipation Day. Keep writing.
@ CErmle
Respect due.
Much progress acheived by this adnin, new school, extensions to existing school plant, bettering mount St John, now the best hospital in the oecs region; we now have the 4th landed uwi campus. Ancestors in general are smiling
Tenman:You say,Ancestors in general are smiling.How do you know.What dead people are doing.
How saddened it is that the real significance of emancipation day is drowned by the noise, the nakedness and carnal appetite of carnival… how can we mentioned our founding fathers…the men of the 1939…when one of the fathers is erase from our History ( S. A Henry) one of the founding members of the trade union movement… do your research and educate the nation..and right this blatant wrong… we talk about emancipation and board of education funded by tax payers money …still shackles its students…how can they compete globally if bonded… how can we celebrate emancipation when we import 95% of our food from those who enslaved us..
let’s get real…about emancipation.
So why don’t you sponsor those board of education students instead. If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
Tell us about S.A. Henry since you seem to know about that individual. Emancipate yourself from negative rants and posit something uplifting. You can start by telling us who this SA Henry was.
Seems like you don’t work…guess all the mothers and fathers like myself who pay the education levy since it’s creation….we have been sponsoring these scholarship for years….and Gr8, where in my statement did I mention about education is exspensive. I’m sure you have the internet..go do your research about S. A Henry…hope you are not short on the reading too…as it seems
You wasted those few sentences and still not jot or tittle about SA Henry. Instead of drawing attention to this person, you did the very thing you accused others of doing: sidelining the individual.
No props or kudos to SA Henry. Just ur baseless rantings.
Today we are celebrating Emancipation Day.Then tomorrow,what? We would go back to the same bull dung we were in before Emancipation Day celebrations.Where persons are working and not getting paid for their labor for weeks and even months in Antigua and Barbuda.Where black people are still the more financially challenged.Even though them barn dey inna Antigua and Barbuda.I have traveled to Cape Town,South Africa.I thought I were in China as I walked around that City.Our capital city of St.Johns would be mirroring that South Africa city very soon.Where every other person would be a Chinese and or another foreigner.Where Nationals would be like second class citizens.Where the power of lands would be in the hands of foreigners.And we talking about reparations and emancipation.While we are destitute.Still begging and eating out of the hands of those we hate,the White Man.Most of you so called black conscious,African wearing clothing people in Antigua are nothing short of Fakes.
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